Michael Jackson lives!

Well, at least his legacy lives on in the vibrant, lively, hugely entertaining “Michael Jackson’s This Is It.”

The film is a homage to the talent of the late singer-performer that was planned as a straight-to-DVD release, a behind-the-scenes look at how Jackson’s planned London “This Is It” concert was put together at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. But following Jackson’s death June 25, director Kenny Ortega began sifting through all of the rehearsal footage that was shot between April and June to come up with a sort-of approximation of what London audiences would have seen.

Ortega, chosen to direct the “This Is It” concert because of his success with the three “High School Musical” movies, has come up with a gold mine of material.

For those who had doubts about Jackson’s ability to bring “This Is It” to the stage because of his alleged fragile health, this film presents him in top high-energy form. He is a dynamo, tirelessly bouncing across the stage, carrying on with the cast in funny asides or repeating the final words of “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” again and again. A stickler for perfection, Jackson insisted on getting a number just right and it’s clear early in the film that it is he who is in charge and not Ortega, who incorporates his suggestions into the show. It seems Jackson will try anything to give audiences a thrill, at one point standing, a bit uncertainly, on a cherry picker while rehearsing “Beat It.”

It’s obvious that “This Is It” was going to be quite a show: with dancers propelled from below the stage into the spotlight by elevators in one big production number; a tribute to his start as lead singer with the Jackson 5 in another, and clever mini-movies that were going to be incorporated into the show. One of those, in black-and-white, is a ’40s gangster motif with Jackson sitting in a nightclub watching Rita Hayworth do the song “Put the Blame on Mame” from the movie “Gilda.” When she tosses her glove into the audience, Jackson catches it. Later he’s chased by Humphrey Bogart.

There’s also a re-do of the “Thriller” video, this time with the Mummy, ghouls and a giant spider menacing in what was planned as a 3-D presentation. And there’s an impressive computerized production number in which the show’s 11 dancers become 1,000 in helmets and body armor.

Despite the incident with pyrotechnics when his hair caught fire during filming of a soft-drink commercial, pyrotechnics blaze overhead and fire dances around the stage.

The soundtrack features a collection of his hits, including “Billie Jean,” “Rock With You,” “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” “Man in the Mirror.” . Because the songs were edited together from various rehearsals, often in mid-song his costume changes to something different, and then changes again.

There is no narrator, no actual mention of Jackson’s death, no delving into his career except for what’s on stage at the Staples Center. And what’s on stage is magic and razzle-dazzle with a performer who seems so vital and alive and in charge that the only amazing thing is that just a few days after some of this footage was shot he would be dead. But let’s not dwell on that, nor the weird headlines from his life. “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” is a celebration of the man’s career and it’s quite an epitaph.

****Michael Jackson’s This Is It

Starring: Michael Jackson.

Rated: PG, contains nothing offensive.

mjanuson@projo.com